Niu Guihua’s words clearly carried a hint of indirect accusation. She was deeply dissatisfied that Gu Zhenyang had already brought Su Yiyi back from the hospital before she had even woken up, and she felt he was simply unwilling to spend money.
After all, she was his mother-in-law—Gu Zhenyang still had to explain.
“It’s not that I’m unwilling to spend money. The doctor already said all her bodily functions are normal. That’s why she was discharged.”
He wasn’t a doctor—he could only follow what the doctor said. Besides, to him, Su Yiyi was nothing more than a somewhat familiar stranger.
This really couldn’t be blamed on him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried to live a proper married life with her. But ever since they got married, she had constantly caused trouble—complaining about everything. To this day, they hadn’t even consummated the marriage, let alone lived like a real couple. If military marriages weren’t so serious, he would have divorced her long ago. Since her heart wasn’t with him, he might as well set her free.
This incident had made him think things through—there was truly no way he and Su Yiyi could live together. Once she recovered a bit, he would submit a divorce application.
Niu Guihua snorted. “She hasn’t even woken up yet, and you’re saying her body is fine? I may not understand all that, but I do know this—my perfectly fine daughter hasn’t lived well since marrying you.”
Su Yiyi felt a little awkward.
Because, truthfully, Niu Guihua was wronging Gu Zhenyang. From the original owner’s memories, he was actually a responsible man. Though their marriage existed in name only, he had treated her fairly well in the beginning.
She was too lazy to cook, and although he later got so frustrated that he stopped returning to the family compound, he still asked his comrades to help bring food back for her. Helping once or twice was fine, but it couldn’t go on forever—he must have compensated them in some way.
Even with their relationship deteriorating to this extent, he had never truly treated her badly. It was just that Su Yiyi had someone else in her heart and kept causing trouble—none of that could really be blamed on him.
“Mom… Zhenyang treats me quite well. Don’t say that,” Su Yiyi said softly.
Gu Zhenyang raised an eyebrow.
What was this woman up to? Hadn’t she always been dissatisfied with him? Now she was actually speaking up for him? Was she planning something bigger?
Niu Guihua was equally shocked. In her letters home, her daughter had been full of complaints about him. Why was she defending him now? Could it be that he had threatened her?
Instead of easing the tension, Su Yiyi’s explanation only made both of them more suspicious.
Seeing their expressions, Su Yiyi knew her words had done nothing. But there wasn’t much else she could explain right now. Given the original owner’s past behavior, it would be nearly impossible to repair relationships overnight—she would have to take it slow.
At this moment, Niu Guihua had no mind to argue further. Her heart was full of concern for her daughter, and the others felt the same.
“Little sister, don’t worry. If Gu Zhenyang dares to bully you, even if I can’t beat him, your big brother will fight him to the death!”
Su Yiyi’s eldest brother, Su Hongjun, already forty this year, spoke loudly—both to reassure his sister and to show Gu Zhenyang the Su family’s stance. Their daughter was not someone to be married off and forgotten; the entire family would back her up.
Su Hongjun’s eldest son, Su Dahu—Su Yiyi’s nephew—was already sixteen, only three years younger than her. He had grown into a strong young man and was glaring fiercely at Gu Zhenyang, as if ready to pounce at any moment.
Su Dahu had grown up following his little aunt everywhere—if she pointed east, he would never go west. This time, when she had nearly lost her life, he was the most agitated among all the nephews.
Gu Zhenyang said nothing. After all, he did bear some responsibility. The Su family had always treasured Su Yiyi like their own eyes—this reaction was completely normal.
Though he wasn’t angry, he still wanted to divorce her as soon as possible. That way, she could live the life she wanted, and he wouldn’t have to feel helpless and constrained by this marriage anymore.
Seeing that he didn’t argue back, the Su family’s anger eased somewhat. They were reasonable people. They were just furious because of what had happened this time. Deep down, they knew exactly what kind of person their daughter and sister was. If not for the childhood engagement, Gu Zhenyang might not have agreed to marry her at all.
Angry as she was, Niu Guihua was still a woman of this era. She ultimately didn’t want her daughter to divorce, so she didn’t want to escalate things further.
“Alright, since Yiyi is awake, let’s put this matter behind us. Tomorrow we’ll head back—there’s work waiting at the production team. Everyone else, go out. Cuilan, Xiumei, Shuzhen, you stay. We’ll keep Yiyi company and chat with her.”
With Niu Guihua’s order, everyone dispersed. Only Su Jianguo—Su Yiyi’s father—lingered reluctantly before finally leaving.
Once only the women remained, Niu Guihua began questioning her daughter.
“What exactly happened this time? How did something like this happen at home?”
Su Yiyi felt a bit speechless. The original owner had at least attended junior high—how could she lack such basic knowledge?
“I just thought it was too cold, so I closed the doors and windows to keep warm. Then I accidentally fell asleep… and when I woke up, you were all here.”
Niu Guihua frowned. “There’s really no other reason?”
Su Yiyi choked slightly.
Well… there actually was another reason. No matter how deeply someone slept, it wouldn’t be to that extent. It was because she had learned from a close friend that the educated youth she liked had found a partner. She had cried her heart out before falling into that deep sleep.
Niu Guihua, frustrated, tapped her daughter’s forehead—though not too hard.
“You… what’s so good about that pretty boy? So what if he’s educated? Gu Zhenyang also went to high school—how is he worse than that guy? Always speaking in that pretentious tone, putting on airs like a city person. If you ask me, what’s the difference between him and us country folk? He still has to work the fields to earn work points.”
“Whether he can even return to the city is still a question. What’s so impressive about that? Just live your life properly with Zhenyang. What good would divorce do you?”